Murrin v. Rifugiato

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Allen M. Stearne,

This is an appeal from judgment n.o.v. entered for two defendants after a verdict of a jury for plaintiffs in a trespass action for damages to real property. The single question presented is whether the tortfeasor was the agent of defendant property owners or an independent contractor.

Leroy and Emma Murrin, husband and wife, owners of a house in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, are plaintiffs. The adjoining lot, on which stands a garage but no dwelling house, is owned by Mary Rifugiato, one of the defendants. Plaintiffs alleged and offered evidence to prove…